This invention relates generally to methods and apparatuses for protecting windows and buildings during a wind storm.
As the oceans continue to warm due to global warming and depletion of the ozone layer, weather patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable. These unpredictable weather patterns can result in severe storms and extremely high temperatures in some areas. The impact of these changes will likely increase the frequency and severity of hurricanes. Accordingly, it is expected that in the near future that the coastal territories surrounding the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast of the United States, and other hurricane-prone coastal territories world-wide, will experience heavy losses due to hurricane damage. Some of these hurricanes are expected to be Category Five hurricanes with wind speed exceeding 150 miles per hour. Such a hurricane might be expected to deliver wind speeds of 135 miles per hour to cities such as Houston, Texas, the inventor""s home city, which resides approximately 50 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
Most steel-based buildings are designed to withstand some amount of wind forces by virtue of load-bearing structures incorporated in the core of the building, such as the use of xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cKxe2x80x9d bracing around the elevators and stairs. Other buildings are designed around a rigid frame concept in which wind forces are transferred through the frame to the foundation of the building. In concrete-based buildings such approaches are commonly achieved using reinforced concrete or post-tension concrete technologies. Rarely do buildings contain bracing on the outside walls of the building because such bracing usually interferes with the aesthetics of the building. Despite these preventative measures, most buildings in Houston are not designed to withstand wind speeds of this magnitude; indeed, most commercial buildings are only designed to withstand average wind speeds of approximately around 110 miles per hour.
Thus, most, if not all, of the buildings on the United States coast line have never been designed or tested at wind speeds expected to be delivered by future high-intensity hurricanes. The result could be catastrophic damage; not only would the windows in these buildings be susceptible to breaking due to high positive and negative wind pressure thereupon, but the buildings themselves could be subject to irreparable damage as the swaying action of the building causes various sides of the building to be put under undue tension (elongation) and compression (shortening). In buildings built with a steel frame, some of the structural steel members of the building upon exposure to extreme wind velocity and pressure may go into the yield point of these members, causing major structural failure to the buildings and permanently hampering their integrity and feasibility. The same can be said for buildings built with a concrete frame. Moreover, even if these forces on the building are not sufficient to damage the building, the tensile and compressive forces, in conjunction with the positive or negative wind pressure, may be sufficient to xe2x80x9cpopxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccrushxe2x80x9d the windows in the building.
Of course, hurricane force winds are only temporary, and accordingly, it would be beneficial if some sort of temporary bracing could be applied to buildings during those critical time periods of hurricane force winds to help prevent windows and buildings from damage. Several prior art approaches have been devised to protect windows subject to high force winds. A common approach disclosed in the prior art involves mechanically affixing (e.g., by bolting) a brace to a window frame and then bringing a dampening member (e.g., a pad or suction cap) on the brace into contact with the window to be protected. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,709,054, 3,968,607, 2,607,088, 2,549,661, 2,025,161, 1,731,114, and 810,604. Sometimes this basic approach has employed apparatuses that contact but do not mechanically alter the window frame, for example, by bolting or drilling holes into them. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,217. Another approach involves affixing a brace directly to the window to be protected by suction cups without any mechanical connection of the brace to the window frame at all. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,523,044 and 2,417,233. Another common approach involves the use of various apparatuses to affix a protective sheet, such as a piece of plywood or a shutter, to the window. See 5,673,883, 5,507,118, 2,777,174 and 2,622,285. Still other creative approaches have been attempted. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,082,062, 6,021,610, 5,934,031, 5,551,189, 4,505,079 and 2,183,135. All of the U.S. Pat. Nos. mentioned in this paragraph are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure for all that they teach.
These prior art window protection approaches have certain benefits, but they also suffer from shortcomings and complexities that are believed to impede their functionality and commercial marketability. For example, many of the prior art approaches require the frame surrounding the window to be altered, for example, by drilling holes, or affixing screws or brackets. This is generally frowned upon by the owner of the structure to be protected. Moreover, many of the prior art techniques involve the use of apparatuses that are very expensive to build or excessively difficult to install in a reasonable amount of time before a storm hits. Moreover, none of these prior art approaches is expected to provide significant increased stability to the structure of the building itself during high wind stresses.
One embodiment of the invention includes a brace for protecting windows and buildings during a high wind storm. The brace includes a rigid member sized so as to fit within a window frame containing the window to be protected, and double-sided tape (preferably 3M, Inc. Part No. 4658F) affixed to one side of the rigid member for affixing the rigid member to the window. The disclosed brace is cheap to manufacture and easy to install, but provides excellent rigidity to the protected window to prevent it from breaking when subject to high wind forces. Furthermore, installation of the braces does not require making any mechanical modification to the window frame, such as drilling holes into them. Additionally, imparting a stress to a given brace serves to wedge the brace inside the window frame and to impart a stress to the window, both of which further aids in achieving suitable window rigidity and building protection. Alternative embodiments for imparting this stress are disclosed and include the use of the installer""s hands, the use of a hinged member rotatably connected to the brace which can be firmly wedged against the window frame, the use of a swing arm connected to the brace which can be firmly wedged against the window frame, and the use of a ratchet to advance a piston within the brace to firmly engage the window frame. When the disclosed braces are installed in the windows in a given building, the cumulative effect is to protect the building itself from wind storm damage, as well as the windows containing the braces.